The Things You Read in Books
by Cantica10
Summary: Anna, still hurting from years of neglect from her parents and with no comfort to be found in companionship with her sister, has finally found her happiness in Hans. But when he tears that happiness apart, who can pick up her pieces? And how can Elsa repair years of damage to her relationship with her younger sister? Pairings: Kristanna and Jelsa.
1. Chapter 1

**I was a little apprehensive about the style of this fanfiction before I actually looked in the Frozen archives and found out that this story is very tame compared to a lot of others. So, this is an alternate universe fic that takes place at college. There will be other Disney characters mentioned, but it will focus primarily on the Frozen characters, so I don't consider it a crossover.**

**I wrote this using a recent experience of my own as basis. And fear not; no matter how wonderful Hans may seem for the time being, he is still very much a villain.**

**I don't own any of the characters or franchises mentioned. Please enjoy!**

* * *

**Anna**

I couldn't believe what was happening. Things like this never happened in real life. They only took place in books, or as stories people told as gossip at the lunch table that had no real merit to them. But I was here. This was real. Hans was crawling into bed beside me, and my heart was beating against my ribcage as my nerves ran rampant.

Since I got to college I've had a huge crush on Hans. He was everything I wanted to be; well-liked, confident, and funny. He wasn't afraid of anything. And he went out of his way to make me laugh and make me feel safe, like my issues from the past didn't matter anymore. Admittedly, I'm smarter than him, but that's inconsequential. I really like him. I may even love him. I just want to be with him. All the time.

But there's a serious problem with the way I feel. Hans has a girlfriend back home. One I didn't find out about until a month and a half after I was already head over heels for him. I've tried really, really hard not to like him anymore. But it's not something I can turn on and off like the tap. I resolve not to like him all the time, but as soon as I see him that crumbles around me. I know it's wrong. But I'm not out to steal him from his girlfriend. I'm not like that. It's strange and hard to explain. I just want to spend time with him.

I was hanging out with him in his room tonight, like I've done several times before. We were watching a movie on his laptop, sitting on his bed. He doesn't have a roommate, so there wasn't anyone to interrupt us. I had a bit of a headache and started falling asleep on his shoulder, and when I woke up Hans was pulling on a bathrobe, offering me a brief glimpse of his bare torso. He saw that I had come back to the real world and smiled, a crooked little grin that makes his already handsome face even more wonderful. "I'm going to bed," he told me, tying the robe shut. "You can sleep here tonight or go back to your room. Whatever you want."

I let out a long breath and sat up, rubbing the back of my neck. My head still hurt. I really wanted to stay in his room, but that would have been so improper. I wasn't nearly forward enough to just say I was going to spend the night. "I'm going to head off, then," I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bottom bunk and standing. The world spun a little and I swayed on my feet. Hans noticed.

"You okay?" he asked, a brief flash of concern crossing his face.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," I said, though probably not very convincingly. I took a couple steps. The world didn't stop rotating. I located my slippers and began to put them on, and I nearly toppled over, grabbing onto Hans's laundry rack for support.

Almost immediately, I felt Hans's hands on my shoulder, one arm behind my back as he led me away from the door, back to the bottom bunk. "Nope. I'm not letting you go down the stairs tonight. You'll fall down and kill yourself."

Yes, my room was far away. Three flights of stairs away. But still, this was indecent! Sure, I wanted to stay, maybe just for the sake of finding out what would happen if I did… but I shouldn't stay. I shouldn't. "I'm fine," I insisted. "I'm seriously fine."

"No, you're not. Now get into bed, and I don't want you arguing with me."

So I crawled back onto the bottom bunk, feeling the blush erupting over my cheeks and smiling just a little bit as I settled back in. Hans pulled a blanket over my body. "Do you feel sick?" he asked.

I sighed and shut my eyes. "Maybe a little."

I heard Hans let out a long breath. "Get some sleep, Anna." I made a mumbling noise of assent, and I heard him cross the room and flick the lights off, and felt the bed rock as he climbed onto the top bunk and laid down.

"Good night, Hans," I said into the stillness of the room.

"Good night."

* * *

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of something being set down on a wooden surface across the room. Hans was standing next to his desk, a mere shape in the darkness. "What's going on?" I whispered, propping myself up on my elbows. I felt like I should be worried, for some reason.

It was so hot in his room.

Hans turned around. "It's fine," he assured me in a low voice, a little husky from sleep. "I just got up to get some water."

"Oh." I put my arms down and put my head back onto the pillow. Hans came to my side and sat on the bed. "How are you feeling?" he inquired. His leg was pressed against mine, and even through a layer of sheets I could feel his warmth.

"Better," I mumbled. My heart rate was already increasing, and it nearly went through the roof when he reached out his hand and covered my forehead with his palm. His hand was so cool. It felt incredible in the warmth of the room. When he went to pull his hand away I made a small noise of complaint.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Your hand's cold. It felt good," I said, without shame. I was still too groggy, my head clouded in sleep, to care about impropriety.

Hans reached towards me again and replaced his hand on my forehead. I sighed contentedly. Very slowly, his hand began to trail along the curved path along my temple until his palm was resting on my cheek. I didn't speak. I barely even breathed.

He took his hand back after a few moments and stood back up. That broke the spell, and all of a sudden I could breathe again. My lungs began to work overtime to make up for the several seconds when I had starved them of oxygen. I watched him as he pulled a pillow off the top bunk and dropped it onto the floor. He began tugging the blanket off next.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm going to sleep on the floor. I almost fell off the top," he explained.

Guilt twisted in my stomach when I heard that. He didn't usually sleep on the top. I'd taken his bed. "Oh, god, please don't sleep on the floor," I said, beginning to shift my position to get off the bed. I'd offer to take the top. It was only right.

But Hans didn't miss a beat before he said, "Okay. Scoot over."

So I did. My heart felt ready to explode, it was beating so hard and so fast. I moved over and Hans crawled into bed with me.

I didn't know what to do. The guy I really, really liked was in bed next to me. I could barely breathe. I didn't know whether to be excited or nervous, but eventually propriety won out and I decided to curl up as far away from him as possible, my hip pressing into the wall as I tried to make myself as small as possible, to take up less space.

"Anna?" I heard him whisper from behind me, and I felt his hand on my shoulder, tugging gently at me. "What are you doing all the way over there?"

I couldn't repress the grin that stole across my lips as I succumbed, rolling over and into his arms. One of his hands pressed into the small of my back, the other granting a few tender caresses to my face, brushing stray strands of my red hair out of my eyes before he tucked the arm under his pillow. I let out a soft sigh of contentment and shut my eyes.

I didn't want any more than this. I wouldn't have dreamed of asking for more than this. The boy I liked to an incredible extent was holding me in his arms as I drifted off to sleep. At that moment, I was happier than I had been in a long time.

His embrace made me forget about all the bad things. How my older sister Elsa had shut me out thirteen years ago and refused any affection from me whatsoever. How my parents cared much more about Elsa than me, no matter what I was doing or how well I did. How I had been friendless and depressed my junior year of high school, made so much worse by the lack of attention at home.

How I had swallowed thirteen pills, one by one by one, down with vodka from my parent's fridge in a desperate attempt to end my own life, gotten scared, and forced myself to throw them up.

Hans made me forget all those terrible things. Hans made me feel like I could do anything, really. He made me feel smart and beautiful and even a little sexy. He made me feel like I was enough, that I didn't have to constantly worry that I wasn't smart enough or pretty enough – something I don't think I've felt since junior high.

I was halfway to a blissful sleep when Hans began to speak softly into the darkness. "I just want you to know," he said. I could feel his breath making the tangled ends of my hair flutter. "That you are so beautiful."

If I wasn't awake before, I sure was now. I made a choked noise of surprise, barely believing what I was hearing. First the boy I had a major crush on wanted to sleep holding me in his arms, and now he was whispering to me sweet words that I wanted to hear from him more than anything.

But a nagging little piece of doubt still lingered at the back of my head. Was I really beautiful? I didn't know. I didn't know. "Hans," I breathed, not sure if I had anything to say past his name. Maybe I wanted him to stop before I started crying.

But he didn't stop. "You are," he whispered, squeezing me tighter to him. "And I know you don't see it, and that kills me. You are beautiful, and smart, and sexy, and one of the most wonderful people I've ever met."

I was really going to start crying. Tears were beginning to pool in my eyes. "Hans, please," I said, my voice shaking. I was so happy. If I started crying, he might think I wasn't so, so incredibly happy.

"No, Anna," he refused, unwilling to stop showering me with the compliments I'd needed to hear from someone, anyone, for the better part of the last six years. "You _are_ beautiful."

I knew he could feel me shaking. I was pressed right up against him; how could he have missed it?

"But, Anna," he breathed, and I felt butterflies in my stomach. Something was about to happen. Something huge. I could feel it. "I want to hear you say it."

I was a little taken aback. "What?"

"I want you to believe it," he elaborated. He inclined his neck so his cheek was resting on the top of my head. "You need to believe you're beautiful, and I want to hear you say it."

My breath was caught in my lungs and I was shaking with repressed sobs, but I didn't feel bad. I had a choice. I could let go of everything in that second. All the resentment and pain of my past. I could let it go and continue with my life without all of that.

So I made the choice. My voice shaking, I managed to whisper, "I'm beautiful."

That moment was liberating. I believed it. I really did. I was beautiful. I was smart. Hell, I was sexy. I was on top of the world. Nothing could stop me.

Except, perhaps, Hans shifting his body so he was propped up on one elbow. He lifted a hand to cup my chin and raised my face towards his and very gently, he pressed his lips to mine.

I was floored. Amazed. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever expected this. I certainly wouldn't have asked for this. This was… wonderful.

Something in my brain made me pull away. Maybe a part of me was trying to rebel. I was unaccustomed to happiness. A part of me must have felt like this was part of a trap.

"Anna?" Hans whispered.

My mind blanked. I felt like I might start crying out of happiness again. I didn't know what to say other than, "That was my first kiss."

I couldn't see Hans's face in the darkness, but I could hear the smile in his voice. "I know. And I wanted it to come from someone who knows just how beautiful you are, but only after you really believed it."

I smiled against his mouth as he leaned in to kiss me again, this time introducing his tongue. I had to be beautiful. If I wasn't, why would a person as incredible as Hans want to be here, kissing me?

But then I remembered, and my stomach dropped. As much as I loved this new sensation of kissing, I had to pull away. "Hans, stop," I protested, feeling the immediate ache of loss as soon as our lips separated.

"What's wrong?"

"You have a girlfriend," I reminded him, as much as it killed me. I never liked to think about her. He barely ever mentioned her around me. Her name, I think, I had heard only about five times before. But trying not to think about her didn't make her less real. And it certainly didn't make what was going on between me and Hans any better.

I was the other woman. I didn't want to be the other woman.

So I reminded him about his girlfriend. Honestly, I saw that as the moment he made his own choice. If he stopped kissing me we could forget this little slip happened. A lapse of judgment on both our parts. But then again… he could keep kissing me. He could choose me.

Without missing a beat, Hans replied, "Alice will understand." And then his lips were back on mine, and I was so overjoyed because he was kissing me again, _he'd chosen me_, that I dared to slide my tongue past the seam of his lips. French kissing had never sounded very appealing to me before. I had never been more wrong. French kissing was lovely.

"I don't think I'm very good at kissing," I whispered on a giggle once when I missed his mouth and caught the corner of his lips instead.

His grin was wide. "Practice makes perfect."

So I practiced.

It went on like that for a long time. We kissed, lying side by side in his bed. I was wearing sweatpants and a tank top but I felt so incredibly sexy. I didn't think much of it when Hans slid his hands under my shirt and covered my breasts with them. It felt good, to have someone touch me. To have someone want me.

A little longer and his hands went lower. Trailing down my stomach and fingering the waistband of my sweats. Without removing my lips from his I grabbed his wrist and brought his hand back to my chest. Second base was fine. I was in no way ready for third.

"Don't you trust me?" Hans murmured.

I was just a little offended by the question. "Of course I trust you," I said, finally breaking away and falling back onto the pillows. "But trusting you doesn't make me any less of a virgin."

He let out a barely audible sigh and settled in next to me, brushing hair out of my face. "I understand," he said, wrapping me in his arms again. "Your virginity is a gift to give to whoever you want."

_What_ a line! I felt all tingly just from listening to him speak the words. He did understand, didn't he? I grinned as I began to get up.

"Where are you going?"

"I just need a drink," I whispered, and let out a quiet laugh when he pulled me back into the bed and made to get up instead.

"I'll get it," he said, standing and crossing the room to one of his two desks. I watched his figure rummage around on the top shelf before he pulled down a mug and went to the sink in the room, switching on the light over the counter. I shrunk away from the illumination. My eyes were more adjusted to the dark.

Hans left the light on as he filled the mug almost to the top and came back to the bed. I sat up, letting the covers pool at my waist, and he handed the mug to me. I took to the water with gratitude, swallowing down several long gulps before my parched throat felt satisfied. A little breathless, I said, "Thanks."

"Of course," he smiled, wandering to the other end of the room and stopping at one of the desks, looking at the owl cookie jar that had been on the top of the desk for as long as I can remember with a scrutinizing gaze. "Huh," he said, opening the top and pulling out a bag.

"What is it?" I asked between sips of water.

"It moved," he said. "And it's been refilled."

"It might have been your parents," I suggested, remembering that his mother and father had come up to visit him last weekend. My parents had been up at the college as well; it was parent's weekend.

"Must have been," he said, tearing open the bag and pulling something from it. "Want a dried mango?"

I did, so he tossed me a couple which I didn't catch. They fell onto my lap and I picked one up, munching on it as Hans took a couple for himself and replaced the bag in the owl jar.

We stayed up for almost an hour. He paced the room as we talked and I slowly made my way through three-fourths of the mug of water. He showed me a collection of pins he'd gathered over the years, souvenirs from his many travels. I entertained him with the story of the disastrous time I went water skiing; I'd lost my skis but not let go of the rope, dragged at 40 miles per hour through water for nearly a minute before I realized I needed air and let go of the rope at last.

I grew exhausted after a while, when he was sitting next to me telling me a story about one of his older brothers. I let him finish before I said, "I can't drink any more of this."

He tugged the mug out of my hands and analyzed how much was left in it before he lifted it to his lips and finished the water inside in a few gulps.

"Thirsty?" I asked teasingly as he stood up. I laid back down on the bed.

"Just a little," he replied, smiling at me before he went back to the sink, putting the mug down on the counter and switching off the light. Everything went black for a few moments as my eyes tried to adjust. I heard him stumbling through the blackness back towards the bed before his hand found my waist and he crawled back under the covers with me.

Snuggling into his chest, I whispered, "I really need to get some sleep."

He seemed reluctant, but agreed. "All right."

* * *

I was woken up not an hour later by Hans, who was peppering my neck and jawline with kisses. No light filtered through the shut curtains, meaning it was still not light out and by definition still the middle of the night. "Hans," I mumbled, half in protest. I really was tired. But god, it was nice to have him kiss my collarbone. Shivers went up and down my spine.

"How do you expect me to sleep when there's a beautiful girl in bed next to me?" he asked, drowning out any more protests I may have had as he pressed his lips against mine. The feeling was becoming very familiar, and I was going to become addicted to it very fast.

We kissed again and again, longer each time. We were both growing much more adventurous with our tongues, and my entire body felt alive, like my every nerve was a live wire.

We tried kissing in various positions. His favorite was my least favorite, but I endured because he loved it. He would lie on his back and I would straddle his hips, my face hovering above his as I kissed him for the first time, taking control. My hair got caught between our lips more than a few times, and each time we would laugh and he'd push my hair back with both of his hands, keeping it captive against the back of my neck as he pulled me downward for more kisses.

"You're already much better," he mumbled against my mouth at one point.

We traded off positions to arrange ourselves in my own personal favorite, though he held himself differently than I did. With me on my back he would lay on top of me, holding himself up as if in the middle of a push-up. I would have thought his weight atop mine would be heavy, but it didn't feel that way. It felt pleasant. He was warm, and I felt safe.

We were in the midst of a particularly long kiss when he began rocking his body, backward and forward. The motion was nice at first. I went along with it, even starting to match his rhythm when I felt it. Something hard digging into my groin that certainly hadn't been there before. I knew what it was and it scared me.

I'd given a lot of thought to sex. What it's like. How to go about it. But I had always resolved myself to being a virgin until marriage. Sex was a subject that secretly interested me, but I was in no way ready to experience it.

I gasped involuntarily, a panicked noise. Hans pulled away at once. "Anna? Are you okay?"

"Fine," I said breathlessly. My heart was pounding.

"Did I scare you?"

"Just a little."

Hans rolled off of me, taking me back in his arms. "Why did that scare you so much?" he asked gently.

I curled into him, trying to get my heart rate back to normal. "I don't know. I just… I was raised on Victorian values, I guess."

"Well, love," he replied. I heard the grin in his voice rather than saw it. "I think we've had quite enough of Victorian values, don't you?" And then he was kissing me all over again. I was more than happy to let him. He'd quoted a line from one of our favorite shows with that reply, a quote from a newer episode of _Doctor Who_. But much more importantly, he'd called me love!

We kissed and we kissed and we kissed, and we stayed away from that position where he would lay atop me, though we got close. His hands crept beneath my shirt and dared to reposition my bra so his palms could feel the uninterrupted skin of my breasts. I kept his hands from going lower several times.

We kissed until finally I could barely keep my eyes open and he at last agreed to my request that we just sleep, because I was exhausted.

* * *

It was light outside when I next awoke, though that certainly wasn't the cause of my pull back into consciousness. Hans was kissing me again, his lips softly moving against mine, coaxing me back into the plane of reality. I opened my eyes and grinned as he pulled away for a brief moment, his face hovering over mine. "Good morning," I whispered.

"Good morning."

Because I felt bold and beautiful and because I knew Hans would love it, I shifted so my legs were straddling his hips and I kissed him, my hair getting in the way the first time. We quickly remedied that situation.

His clock read 7:30 and as I flopped back onto the bed next to him I asked reluctantly, "Should we rejoin the living?"

"I don't have class for another two hours," he said, his arms wrapping around me as he nuzzled his face into my collarbone. "We can stay here for a little while longer."

We slept a little longer, though I didn't do much sleeping. I just laid there with my eyes closed, listening to the beating of his heart. His arms were still around me and one of his legs was between mine, his knee digging a bit into my groin. It wasn't entirely uncomfortable; as a matter of fact, it was rather pleasant.

Time trickled by leisurely. We indulged in more kisses with no more frightening incidences until 9:15 was upon us, and Hans informed me reluctantly he had to get dressed and go to class.

"You have to go," he whispered. "Before everyone starts leaving their rooms."

That much was true. Today was a day when people would be coming and going, as the last day of classes before fall break started. I didn't have any classes to attend today, but Elsa and my roommate did, and we were all sharing a car to get back to our hometown of Arandelle. It was a four hour drive, and since Elsa's last class ended at four we most likely wouldn't be on the road until five o'clock. I hated it when we drove in the dark, but it appeared tonight that would be unavoidable.

I couldn't be seen by anyone, as girls weren't allowed on the boys' floor until after ten in the morning. I was obviously in violation of that rule. Hans opened the door to his room and I hid next to his laundry rack, just behind the open door as he scouted out the hall. A different male voice began speaking to him, and I nearly had a heart attack. The RA of his floor was just outside.

I tried to keep my breaths silent and made no noise as Hans talked casually with him about his plans to begin making the return journey to Southernisles, his own hometown, at about 12:30. After a couple minutes his RA said goodbye and I heard his footsteps retreating down the hall, and then a door open and shut.

"Okay, it's clear," Hans said, ushering me over the threshold and hugging me, a tight yet quick embrace. "If I don't see you before I leave, have a good break."

"You too," I whispered, considering kissing him for a brief moment before deciding against it. Best not to linger. I turned and hurried down the hall and began the descent down the stairs Hans had not allowed me to navigate the night before, not breathing easily until I had made it past a girl's floor. I was in the clear.

When I got back to my room my roommate, Eilonwy, was preparing to leave for her morning class. "Where have you been?" she asked.

I could feel my cheeks erupt in a blush. "I, um… I spent the night in Hans's room."

She looked a little taken aback, but said nothing further than a slight, "Oh. Okay." Eilonwy wasn't fond of Hans, and I knew it. She didn't often voice her opinions of him, though, because I refused to listen to a bad word against him most of the time.

I thought that was going to be that, but before she went out the door she asked, "How did that happen?"

"I got dizzy last night. He wouldn't let me go down the stairs, so I slept on his bottom bunk," I said, trying to sound nonchalant. I purposely didn't tell her about the making out.

"Alright," she shrugged, opening the door. "See you later."

Eilonwy didn't often stick her nose too far into anyone else's business. She was far too concerned with her own issues, and I was grateful for it. She shut the door behind her and I let out a sigh, lifting my fingers to my lips. They felt chapped, and for good reason. I smeared some chap stick on them and plugged in my phone before crawling into my lofted bed, deciding I had the leisure to try to get another hour or so of sleep. I had nowhere to be and I had already packed most of what I was bringing home the previous evening. All that was left was my electronics and their chargers. I drifted off to sleep, a smile ever-present on my lips, thoughts of Hans following me into dreams.

* * *

I woke up at 11:30 and immediately shot Hans a text. _Message me before you leave_. I wanted to see him off. I ran to the showers and had a quick one, in and out in ten minutes. It took longer to dry my hair, which is nearly impossible to tame in the morning. When I next looked at my phone my heart sunk. Hans had texted me back, not with a message I wanted to see. I had been banking on him leaving at half past noon. It was 11:54 and he was gone already.

_I just left, sorry. Had to go get gas for the car. Hey, have a great break. Skype me sometime_.

He knew very well that I had not yet figured out my Skype. Technology further than Google and Microsoft Word pretty much baffled me. A little irritated and more than a little upset, I sighed and texted him a reply. _If I can figure out my Skype, that will definitely happen. Drive safe. I'll miss you_.

His reply came less than a minute later. _I'll miss you too_!

I decided to leave it at that. I'd already sent him the cliché "I'll miss you" text. No use in becoming even more pathetic. I sat down at my desk and sighed. I already really missed Hans. And now all I had to look forward to was the drive home with my selectively involved roommate and ice-cold older sister.

* * *

**And there's chapter one. Based very closely on my life, for the time being. Consider this me writing as a way to both remember and forget. Eventually I'll start writing a future for Anna which ends far more favorably than what I'm sure I'm headed for. But in the meantime, I sincerely hoped you enjoyed this chapter and will review. I don't think I'll keep going with it unless I get some feedback.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Cantica, out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter, unlike the last, is not based upon my life. I just wanted to write in some Elsa and introduce Jack to the story. I'm a huge Jelsa shipper. I hope you enjoy it.**

**I don't own Frozen, Guardians, or any of the bands mentioned in this chapter.**

* * *

**Elsa**

If there was one class I enjoyed, it was gender studies. It was fabulous, scrutinizing commercials for positive versus negative portrayals of women and men alike. It was my last class of the day. A good way to end classes before a break. Going out of the class I ignored the sentiments of the other students offering me well-wishes for the break. I had so far succeeded in brushing off anyone who showed even the slightest interest in me. I didn't want to get involved. I knew what they called me behind my back. "Ice Queen," because I was so cold to all of them. They couldn't know how close to the truth that was.

My powers are something I keep to myself. The reason I wear gloves every day, everywhere, even in the summer. I tell people I have a germ problem. Better to be the OCD freak people whisper about when I pass them in the halls than be the circus freak, locked up for her spellcraft that could hurt other people. So I pushed everyone away. Made everyone somewhat frightened of me. Nobody approached me.

Well, almost no one. There was one annoyingly persistent young man who absolutely refused to give up, no matter how many insults I flung at him.

Jack Frost was certainly not unattractive. He had hair so blonde it was white and people often accused him of being albino, but not so. He had incredible blue eyes, the color of sky shining through a thin layer of frost. He had high cheekbones and a winning smile, and was thin and lanky. He was never seen without his dark blue sweatshirt, which only made his eyes more vivid in comparison.

"Hey, Elsa!"

Great. He always did this, every day without fail. I'd be getting out of class and he'd find me. It was like he memorized my schedule.

I sighed heavily and turned around. "Hello, Jack," I said coolly, not bothering to stop. He always caught up with me eventually. Sure enough, I heard his hurried footsteps and within a few moments he was beside me.

"How was your class?" he asked, grinning as he matched my stride.

"It was fine. As usual," I replied. It was the same response I'd been giving him for the last three and a half years.

"Nothing interesting?" he asked, smoothly stooping down mid-step to pick a long stick up off the ground. He twirled it a few times and looked at me raising a playful eyebrow. I'd seen this act countless times over the past few years. He was always looking to impress me. I didn't allow myself to be impressed.

"Nothing to report," I said.

I was actually a little flattered by his persistence, but he couldn't be allowed to know anything about me other than the minimum. Name, major, my hometown. The fact that I had a little sister at the school. That was all I ever gave up because that was common knowledge. Sometimes I almost caught myself thinking of him as my friend. I shut those feelings down as soon as I realized they were there.

Conceal. Don't feel. Don't let it show. Don't let them know.

My own personal mantra, one I'd lived by for the past thirteen years. My father had taught the poem to me when I was eight and it still held true. If no one gets close to me, no one will find out about me. No one will hurt me.

Jack pulled a rather intricate stunt with the stick – which, considering its length might more accurately have been described as a staff – and got ahead of me enough so that he could walk backwards. This was a trick he'd pulled a few times before. I think he liked walking backwards ahead of me better than walking beside me, because he could maintain eye contact that way. "So, any big plans for the break?"

"Not particularly," I replied. Always nonchalant. "What about you?" I much preferred listening to him talk about himself than I did hear him ask questions about myself I wouldn't answer.

"I don't know. Hanging out," he said, shrugging as he twirled the staff from one hand to the next. "I just like to go with it. You're going home for break, right? To Arandelle?"

"I am," I nodded. "I'm driving with Anna and her roommate."

"Cool," Jack grinned. "Got the music picked out, then? Arandelle's a few hours away. You've got to have some traveling songs to rock out to."

"Anna has CD's. I don't particularly have a preference when it comes to music."

"Seriously? I had you pegged as a Lumineers fangirl. Maybe Young the Giant. Oh, wait, I know – Evanescence."

I had heard of all those bands. Anna had songs from all of them, and artists like them. In truth, I did have a music preference – I liked Celtic songs, and piano solos. The occasional showtune. But I always let Anna choose the music when we travelled. It was the least I could do for her after what I'd done.

It was my fault, what had happened thirteen years ago. Anna and I had been playing in our family's summer house, snuck down to the parlor in the middle of the night so I could conjure up the snow and ice. I'd always been able to summon the aspects of winter. I had been so proud of it. It had been my proud secret at school. I was good at controlling it. And I was always more than happy when I got home to entertain Anna with it.

She'd only been five, and I'd just turned eight. I'd lost control. I'd hit her with my magic. It got her between the eyes and I still remember how she'd fallen onto my conjured snow, her body limp. I remembered how cold she was as I tried pulling her into my lap and crying out in anguish for my parents. I remembered watching in horror as a strip of Anna's hair went white.

My father had taken us into the forest. I'd heard the legends of the creatures of stone, but I never believed them until the boulders came to life before my very eyes. Trolls were the kind of things that existed only in myths, you know? One of those things that you read in books. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought they existed.

But then, I had ice magic. Why should a clan of stone trolls be much of a surprise?

Their leader had removed Anna's memory of my powers, and in doing so saved her life. And after that I wasn't allowed to show Anna my magic anymore. She wasn't allowed to know. And every time I saw her after that incident the white strip in her red hair reminded me of the way I'd hurt her.

And I never stopped hurting her. It was too painful for me to see her anymore, so I'd shut her out completely. My outlook on life changed. My powers were no longer a wonderful secret. They were terrible and the secret burdened me like a weight constantly on my shoulders. I was terrified of them. What if I hurt someone else?

My parents pulled me out of school so I could be homeschooled instead. Anna kept going to school, though. I thought maybe she would make friends and not need me anymore, but she never hit it off with anyone. She was always lonely. And at home, I was the main source of attention. Our parents were constantly with me, trying to work through my powers and the dangers they posed. And that's how we grew up. Completely separate.

And Anna was always alone.

So the least I could do was let her listen to the music she wanted.

"You let your sister choose the music every time?" Jack asked, looking incredulous. "Damn. You're a better person than I am, let me tell you. I'd never let my little sister choose all the music in the car. A couple songs, yeah, if I'm in a good mood, but I can only handle so much Katy Perry, you know?"

I smiled, a reserved, lips-only smile. "Anna doesn't like Katy Perry."

"Good girl," Jack nodded, that familiar grin dancing across his lips again.

I stopped at the bend in the sidewalk. I lived in a different dorm than Jack. He would have to keep going straight to get to his, while I would have to turn. "This is my stop," I said, indicating the path.

"I don't suppose today you'll let me walk you to your room?" Jack asked flirtatiously. It was a request he made an average of twice a week, and my answer was always the same.

"No, not today," I said, turning. "Goodbye, Jack."

"See you, Elsa," he said. I was amazed at how happy he always sounded. "Try to have a good break, would you? You never have any fun."

"I have fun enough," I mumbled, letting that be the end of the conversation as I set off down the path to my dorm.

I've lived in the same dorm room since my sophomore year. It's a small single, one of several on the second floor of the building that has offices for the math department on the main floor. The guys have a handful of single rooms in the basement.

I like the privacy. Even as a freshman I didn't have a roommate. I paid the extra sixty bucks for my own room. I never went to school functions. I barely left my room except to eat and go to class. As a matter of fact, that's pretty much all I've ever left my dorm room for even since moving into my current one. The cafeteria is big enough that I can usually remain fairly anonymous, hiding behind one of the trees they keep littered about next to the windows. I always eat lunch when I know I won't be disturbed. Jack and Anna both had classes when I went for food, so I didn't have to worry about their company. Dinner was trickier, but I had gotten fairly adept at navigating around Anna. Jack was usually my dining companion in the evenings, and much of our meals were spent in total silence.

He had to know there were plenty of girls interested in him. Ones that could return his affection. Why did he persist in hanging around me? I knew I wasn't exactly pleasant.

I ascended the stairs to my floor and let myself into my room. I had finalized all my packing this morning. I was in and out of my room, snatching up my single suitcase and keeping my bag, which held my laptop slung over my shoulder. I took my car keys off their designated hook next to the door, switched off the lights, and left.

My car was a short walk away, somewhere in the middle of the parking lot just past the dorm where Jack lives. As I made the trek I heard someone yelling my name from above my head. I looked up to find Jack half-hanging out a window. "Seriously, remember what I said!" he called. "Have a good time this week!"

I shook my head, somewhat amused. "I can't make any promises!" I shouted back up to him, and he let out an exaggerated groan before flashing me that dazzling grin of his and waving before he shut the window.

I tried not to think too much about him as I located my car and loaded my stuff into the back. There was more than enough room for Anna and Eilonwy's luggage. I shut the back door and climbed into the driver's seat, shooting Anna a brief text telling her I'd be at her dorm in less than five minutes and to wait for me outside the door so we could get out of town as quickly as possible. I hated to drive in the dark.

I stuck my key in the ignition and the engine purred to life. It had been three months since I'd been home. And more than likely a majority of my time there would be spent inside my bedroom, waiting to return here.

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**Short but sweet. I like it. If you enjoyed it I would beg you to review. They keep me going. So far I've had one, and if you would be so kind as to send me your thoughts, send me your thoughts not only on Jack and Elsa, but on Hans and Anna as well.**

**And don't worry; Kristoff is coming. Maybe not right away, but he's coming.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Cantica, out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not have the energy to write a proper chapter introduction. I had two tests this week, I am mentally exhausted. Here's chapter three, I own nothing, and please enjoy.**

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**Anna**

I didn't know how to talk to Elsa. I never knew what to say when it was just us two like this. Eilonwy was in the car too, of course, but she usually plugged into her headphones, listening to some modern music artist that I've never been able to tolerate, and fell asleep within the first half hour of the journey. Which leaves me and Elsa sitting in the front of the car looking anywhere but at one another, saying nothing as the music I'd put in played between us.

Elsa had a very different policy than anyone I'd ever met when it came to her car and the music selection. My friend Kida had a car at school and her rule was "Driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts his cakehole," which is a line from one of her favorite television shows. She usually played modern rock music, which I enjoy, so that was all right by me. But Elsa's policy was always "passenger picks the music."

Which would probably more accurately be described as "Anna picks the music," because as far as I knew, Elsa only ever drove with people in the car on days like today, with me in the passenger seat and my roommate completely tuned out in the back. The CD I had put in was one I'd burned my senior year of high school, filled with eighties music and the odd song by The Proclaimers. "I'm Gonna Be" came on and I resisted the urge to sing along, even though it's one of my favorite songs.

Listening to the lyrics – "When I wake up/ well I know I'm gonna be/ I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you" – brought me to thoughts of Hans. This morning seemed so far away already. Waking up next to him, in his arms. I knew I'd be back at the school in five days, but I already missed him terribly.

Once my thoughts went to Hans, there was no pulling away from them without any immediate external pulls to my attention. I remembered how I met him. Day one of freshman orientation. All of us new students had been crammed into a room together, and though it was quite a large room having all 350 of us (we're a small college) in such a small space was a little intimidating.

We'd played the usual getting to know one another games in small groups, campus administrations' way of trying to get us to form a few bonds with the people we'd be spending the next four years of our lives with. At one point we'd taken a break from those, all of us sitting on the floor and listening to a senior rep talk about a few of the opportunities there would be later in the day on campus. Once he'd finished, he asked if there was anyone in the room from a different planet. Of course, it was all joking.

But I had a really good one. As a huge fan of _Doctor Who_, I had more than enough ammunition to answer that question. So I raised my hand high in the air along with a small handful of others in the room, and the rep picked me.

I stood up and said my name, and announced very proudly that I was from the planet Gallifrey (the home planet of the show's titular character, The Doctor). And some ten feet away from me, one of the guys who had raised his hand in an endeavor to answer the question himself yelled out, "You stole mine!"

And that's how I got my first glimpse of Hans. I thought he was cute, but I didn't think much further than that. I had never gotten much attention from guys and as a result finally stopped endeavoring to meet them with hopes of maybe snagging a date. At the time that was all I wanted. A date. I'd never been on one before.

I still hadn't, I realized. Made out with a guy all night? Yup. Gone on a date? Nope. Not yet. But after last night, I was hopeful Hans would ask me out soon. After breaking the news to Alice, that was. He had chosen me last night, after all.

After the planet announcement I didn't really give him much thought until the Friday of my first week of classes, when the school hosted a swing dance on the lawn of one of the dorms. I went with a couple of the tentative friends I'd made who lived on the same floor as me in the freshman dormitory and we stood on the sidelines for quite a while, watching as partners performed intricate twists and turns and spun around one another. It looked like fun and I wanted a part in it, but I was far too shy to ask any boy to dance.

And then, by some miracle, a boy asked me to dance and I said yes, and I got to be a part of the group. I had a dance, and then another with a different guy. And then the boy who had told me I'd stolen his planet asked if I wanted to dance. I was having so much fun. I wanted to keep it going. So I'd said yes and we'd figured out a couple of the turns together and performed them rather clumsily, but we got through it.

I had more fun with him than I had with the other two guys combined. He liked a lot of the geeky things I liked. He liked to talk about them. He was funny and fearless, and for the first time in a long time, I let myself develop a crush. He was the type of guy I could see myself with, very easily.

I saw him around campus a couple times over the next week, but only from afar. I certainly didn't approach him. He was always with people. Different people, every day. Fearless, like I said. He had no problem walking into a group of people he'd never met and making himself right at home.

It wasn't until the next weekend that I got to speak to him again. Eilonwy and I had invited a couple of our new friends from down the hall – Giselle and Jane – down to the room and we were watching _The Phantom of the Opera_, a favorite of mine. Our door was open, because we were encouraged to keep them that way so we could meet people.

From down the hall we heard footsteps, approaching very fast. Someone was running. That wasn't unusual. People loved to run down the halls. I think they liked the commotion. But those footsteps stopped at our room and Hans stood in the doorframe. "I heard Phantom," he announced, looking at the television and grinning.

"You can come in," I invited him, in no mood to send away a prospective – for lack of a better term – love interest. "Join us!"

He certainly had no objections. He strolled right inside the room and took a seat on the floor next to me. He was excited he hadn't missed much of the film (we hadn't yet even gotten to "Think of Me") and warned us all he would be singing.

"Fine by me," I grinned. He sang, too? Oh, boy. This was a guy seriously after my heart. "Because I'll be singing too."

I hoped to impress him. Draw his attention. So when "Think of Me" started playing, I concentrated very hard on hitting the notes just right as I sang along. Especially the high note. I hit it perfectly and when the song ended I glanced at Hans and found him staring at me with awe in his eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"Why the hell didn't you try out for the school musical?" he said incredulously.

I blushed. I guess my plan worked. He'd noticed.

The college was putting on "Clue: The Musical" for its fall production. I'd wanted to audition, much more for showcasing my talent rather than because I liked the play (or even knew what it was about) but I'd decided against it. I had no idea what my course load was going to be like this semester. I guess Hans had auditioned.

"I didn't know if I'd have the time to," I shrugged.

"You should have tried out. You're amazing"

I could feel myself turning red. "I'm not that good."

"Yes you are," he insisted, poking me in the shoulder. "Don't say you aren't something you are. It doesn't do you justice. You are a _good singer_. Flaunt it."

That was my first confidence boost, courtesy of Hans. I didn't see it at the time, but I was starting to fall for his charm. Hard.

I was pulled from my thoughts and back into reality of the car ride by a voice humming along to the music coming from the car stereo. "I'm Gonna Be" had ended and Dexy's Midnight Runners' "Come on, Eileen" had come on instead. I love that song. I might even go so far as to say it's my favorite song.

Elsa was humming along, following the tune perfectly. She was an incredible singer, but I rarely ever heard her exercise the talent. Occasionally, if I was in the right part of the house, I could hear her faintly singing in the shower, her voice carrying through the vent systems. I would stop whatever I was doing and just listen. She sang in other languages, beautiful, haunting songs. I wished I could ask her what they were about, but somehow that seemed wrong.

I didn't make a sound, although a part of me was dying to sing along to the chorus. I just sat there, watching Elsa. She was singing softly to the lyrics now, almost under them. "When you wear that dress/ oh, my thoughts I confess—"

She suddenly flinched and glanced at me. She looked like a child who'd been caught in the middle of committing an act she knew she wasn't allowed to do.

She turned her attention back to the road. "This is a good CD," she said, and suddenly the awkward air vanished. "You've got good taste."

"Oh… thanks," I said. I wasn't used to receiving compliments from her. "I've got a couple others…" I clumsily pulled a few jeweled CD cases out of backpack, which was at my feet. "Um… some Muse and Panic! At the Disco… Evanescence… this one's got some _Phantom of the Opera_ on it. Actually, I think this one is all Phantom. The next one too."

"You wouldn't happen to have _Love Never Dies_, would you?" she asked, and I would have fallen off my chair if I wasn't firmly strapped in by a seatbelt. _Love Never Dies_ is the little-known sequel to _Phantom of the Opera_. It's got beautiful music and I absolutely adore it. I had no idea Elsa knew it even existed.

"Actually, I do," I said after a moment's pause, locating the proper CD's. One for the first act, one for the second.

"You should put those in next."

"Yeah. Sure."

The awkwardness returned in one fell swoop, and I hated it. I hated that I could never talk to my own sister.

The music slowed down. I brightened up. My favorite part of the song. "Here it comes, here it comes!" I exclaimed involuntarily, and I was amazed that Elsa grinned.

And she started singing along to the song with me. Both of us just belting out the lyrics as loud as we possibly could, trying desperately not to laugh at one another. "Come on Eileen, too loo rye ay/ Come on Eileen, too loo rye ay…"

The tempo started to pick up and we went right along with it, getting louder with every fastened beat. I was dancing as much as is possible when one's seatbelt is fastened having a grand old time, and when the song finally faded out Elsa and I were laughing in a way I haven't laughed with her for years.

I hit the eject CD button and swapped out the current one for the first disc of _Love Never Dies_. Elsa's laughter faded, but the grin remained on her face. "You have a wonderful voice, Anna."

"What, me?" I asked. My own smile seemed permanently plastered on my face. "Thanks. But you're much better."

"Thank you," Elsa said, diverting her attention back to the road as the first track came on. "Which version is this?"

"Melbourne."

"Oh, good. My favorite."

I had more in common with Elsa than I'd thought. With Eilonwy remaining blissfully ignorant of the bonding me and my elder sister were doing in the front seat as we continued the drive, Elsa and I sang along with the entire soundtrack and after it had ended, half of one of my Muse CDs before we reached Arandelle.

It was a good drive. Possibly the most enjoyable four hours I've spent with my sister in thirteen years. And by the time my family's enormous house loomed in view, I had forgotten my irritation with Hans and life was back to being good again. My sister and I were getting along, I'd had my first kiss the previous evening, and I felt like I was on top of the world.

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**Alright, that's chapter three. Did you guys enjoy it? I sure did. Perhaps you enjoyed it enough to offer up a couple reviews?**

**Anyway, thanks for reading. Cantica, out!**


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